Maldives vs Nicaragua: Share of government spending going to interest payments
Maldives
8.8%
in 2021
Nicaragua
9.2%
in 2023
Maldives rank
59th
Nicaragua rank
57th
Share of government spending going to interest payments over time
- Maldives
- Nicaragua
How they compare
Nicaragua currently reports 9.2% against 8.8% in Maldives, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 30 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Maldives ahead.
Maldives ranks 59th and Nicaragua ranks 57th of 152 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Maldives averaged higher in 2 and Nicaragua in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Maldives | Nicaragua | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.3% | 13.0% | 6.7% | Nicaragua |
| 2000s | 5.0% | 11.0% | 6.0% | Nicaragua |
| 2010s | 7.5% | 6.5% | 1.0% | Maldives |
| 2020s | 8.4% | 7.4% | 1.0% | Maldives |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of government spending going to interest payments, Maldives or Nicaragua?
- Nicaragua, at 9.2% against 8.8% in Maldives as of 2023.
- What is the difference in share of government spending going to interest payments between Maldives and Nicaragua?
- 0.4%, with Nicaragua ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Maldives and Nicaragua?
- 30 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2021.
- How do Maldives and Nicaragua rank globally for share of government spending going to interest payments?
- Maldives ranks 59th and Nicaragua ranks 57th of 152 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of government spending going to interest payments. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Interest expenditures on government debt, as share of total central government expenditures. Interest expenditures on government debt include payments on long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments.